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| Despairing even of life |
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 -
(8) For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to
us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that
we despaired even of life: (9) But we had the sentence of death in ourselves,
that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead
Every once in awhile a person will run into such tribulation and affliction that
he or she will despair of life. These hardest times are best dealt with by doing
exactly as Paul did - not thinking about what you don’t have, but what you do
have. If everything is going wrong in this life, don’t think about this life -
think about the future life… eternity, the resurrection, Heaven, the vastness of
forever compared to the speck of time in this life. Paul despaired of life and
remembered God who delivers from death.
Even in life we are dying here. Sometimes when a Christian passes away someone
will say “they’ve left the land of the living.” That’s wrong. They’ve got it
backwards. This is the land of the dying. A Christian leaves the land of the
dying to enter the land of the living. So when those moments of despair arise
where you are “despaired even of life,” put your trust in the Lord and remember
the future promises. |
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